I have seen the Petit--I remember finding it not uninteresting, but little else about it. I would not be keen on seeing ABT revive it.

Faux Pas: Perhaps Cojocaru or Osipova could be interesting in "The Invitation" if it is, indeed, revivable. (Not clear Osipova has any future with ABT these days and in some ways it might even be more appropriate for the Royal to revive it.)

There is a DVD available for Petit's Proust, Intermittence Le Coeur, performed by Paris Opera Ballet. It is a beautiful work and I
like this work very much, but a very French work and I doubt ABT's audience will like it. There is some nudity in this work. The male duet is frequently performed at galas, and Marcelo Gomes, David Hallberg has performed that part in galas.

MacMillan's Invitation is a powerful piece (I also have seen it in full) but this ballet has a violent rape scene of an adolescent girl and I doubt it will be acceptable for the ABT audience too.

Diana Vishneva with Marcelo Gomes. Magnificent, soul-stirring connection. He mastered several sequences of long, slow turns, every inch of legs and body in elegantly held tension. At the "party", her heart-crushing coldness as she repeatedly looked directly at and through him, then blankly turned away. She really is a whore, I thought. Interesting suggestion of rape by the jailer while he knelt and dragged her leg underneath one thigh to just momentarily make that horrible connection. In the swamp, their final series of three death-defying lifts -- Marcelo tossing her into frightenly high, complicated turns -- that peaked with her death midair. What a face! What a death! Wow. I've never seen such a dangerously athletic, trusting partnership in dance. I flew out from San Francisco just to see this performance. I bow to you, Vaganova Ballet Academy, for the privilege of seeing your dancers: Nureyev, Makarova, and Vishneva.

Not quite sure whether this is the right place to post, but is this performance available on video anywhere? Will Vishneva repeat this role stateside (or perhaps in London), does anyone know? One my greatest regrets this summer was missing this piece (I was traveling and working and not in nyc during May or June). I will not make the same mistake twice! All I have are a few youtube clips of Vishneva's Manon, and they are magical.

Not quite sure whether this is the right place to post, but is this performance available on video anywhere? Will Vishneva repeat this role stateside (or perhaps in London), does anyone know? One my greatest regrets this summer was missing this piece (I was traveling and working and not in nyc during May or June). I will not make the same mistake twice! All I have are a few youtube clips of Vishneva's Manon, and they are magical.

I doubt it will be available on video, as ABT hasn't produced any commercial recordings since it's 2005 Swan Lake. Also, amateur ABT videos don't tend to show up on YouTube (with the exception of curtain calls.) However, I believe ABT films about three performances a year for the archives, which are held by NYPL's Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center. The last time I used those collections, which was almost a decade ago, you needed to send a letter to ABT and get written permission to access their archival videos. I wouldn't be surprised if the process has been streamlined, but it's good to keep in mind that you might not be able to show up and watch any ABT video on the spot. Also, I assume all of their archival videos would be filmed from a single vantage point, so you wouldn't have the production values of a commercial DVD.

ABT often does the same production two years in a row before letting it rest for a while, so it seems plausible they would bring back Manon next year. However, I don't know if the non-Vishneva nights sold well, so who knows. I don't think they would bring back Manon without Vishneva, so if they do Manon next year, you can pretty much count on her dancing it. Also, it's one of the few roles that the technically limited Julie Kent can still dance, so if next year ends up being her retirement year, it seems likely they would bring back Manon (or they may opt for one of the other silk skirt dramas, like Onegin or Lady of the Camellias).

However, I believe ABT films about three performances a year for the archives, which are held by NYPL's Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center. The last time I used those collections, which was almost a decade ago, you needed to send a letter to ABT and get written permission to access their archival videos. I wouldn't be surprised if the process has been streamlined, but it's good to keep in mind that you might not be able to show up and watch any ABT video on the spot. Also, I assume all of their archival videos would be filmed from a single vantage point, so you wouldn't have the production values of a commercial DVD.

I looked at some ABT archival tapes just last month (July 2014) - a mixed bill with Prodigal Son (with Cornejo), On the Dnieper (with Hallberg and Gomes), and Desir, taped in 2009 in performance at the Met. I remember thinking that it was good enough to show on PBS, especially given the dearth of ABT recordings available there. No advance request was necessary. I did need a NYPL library card, but you can get that on the spot at the information desk at the 3rd floor research room, where the videos are located. You need to show photo ID, but do not need to be a resident of NY. You then fill out a form for the video you want to see. I brought along a print-out from the catalog so I had all the catalog numbers they need.

The credits say the recording was made possible by The Jerome Robbins Archive of the Recorded Moving Image, NYPL. You might search their catalog on-line to see what else they have.

As I've said ad nauseum, I'm glad they are making these recordings for posterity, but deeply regret that they don't have the permissions needed to show them on PBS, let alone sell them on DVD.

I just took a look at the Dance collection catalog and found a recording of Manon I plan to see next time I'm in New York: Ferri, Bolle, Cornejo, and Murphy, taped in performance at the Met June 14, 2007:

California wrote: I just took a look at the Dance collection catalog and found a recording of Manon I plan to see next time I'm in New York: Ferri, Bolle, Cornejo, and Murphy, taped in performance at the Met June 14, 2007...Would that have been her retirement year? Performance?

(The quote function on this forum no longer works for me, thus the paraphrasing.)

Allesandra Ferri did indeed retire from ABT in the spring, 2007, but her final performance was in Romeo & Juliet the week after Manon. I attended an open dress rehearsal in which she participated on June 18th of that year.

(The quote function on this forum no longer works for me, thus the paraphrasing.)

Allesandra Ferri did indeed retire from ABT in the spring, 2007, but her final performance was in Romeo & Juliet the week after Manon. I attended an open dress rehearsal in which she participated on June 18th of that year.

Now I really want to look at that tape! I had heard the audience was in tears at her final Manon, and this sounds like it (or close).

The quote function does not work for me in Explorer 8, but does work in Chrome. I have no idea why...

(The quote function on this forum no longer works for me, thus the paraphrasing.)

Allesandra Ferri did indeed retire from ABT in the spring, 2007, but her final performance was in Romeo & Juliet the week after Manon. I attended an open dress rehearsal in which she participated on June 18th of that year.

Now I really want to look at that tape! I had heard the audience was in tears at her final Manon, and this sounds like it (or close).

The quote function does not work for me in Explorer 8, but does work in Chrome. I have no idea why...

I remember that in her retirement year Ferri filled in for an injured Reyes in Manon, so her official final Manon may have ended up being her penultimate Manon, or something like that. In any case, I remember she ended up dancing two Manons in quick succession and I'm not sure which date was her final-final. This is when it would be great for ABT to have an online archive of performances like the Met! So many times I can't remember who exactly danced when, but thank goodness for these forums!

p.s. It's great to hear that ABT now has an open access policy for its archival videos. I think Ananiashvili's retirement SL was recorded, and I'd love to relive the thrill of that night.